Leverage is what it’s all about in business. That is, after all, how the rich get rich. And that’s why I love being a Joint Venture Broker – I use leverage.
How about getting leverage on your mind, so that you can accomplish your goals faster and easier? It costs nothing, and it’s simpler than one might imagine. They say, “Affirmations, like ‘I’m happy, healthy, and successful’, consistently spoken out loud with enthusiasm and belief, work.” Well, that’s at a very basic level. One can ramp that up significantly.
Stepping Up Affirmations
Instead of mindlessly intoning, “I’m happy”, how about asking yourself,
- WHY am I happy?
- What have I got to be happy about?
- What’s great about my life?
- How can I be happier?
- What can I do to make myself even happier? What specific steps can I take?
That will result in goals, and when you write them down and create an action plan, you can affirm your action plan.
This will in turn program your Reticular Activating System, which is like your mental GPS, and it will work tirelessly and subconsciously to help you notice and find ways to make your goals happen. Great leverage! That’s why you notice every new Lexus when you’ve just bought one.
How You Can Apply This Strategy
If you repeat, “I’m happy” and then interrupt yourself to ask, “Why am I happy?” you might find yourself answering, “I’m not happy – I am decidedly glum.”
- Well, then you ask, “What do I have to do to BECOME happy?” It’s profound in its simplicity – it leads to positive, constructive action.
- “What is making me unhappy?” Find the root cause and remove or adjust it.
Your Input Effects You
Have a good look at your input and its effect on your state of mind, aspirations, expectations, choices, and results. Every choice, word, and thought is either taking you towards your goals or away from your goals.
- What are you reading, watching, and listening to?
- Whom are you mixing with?
- What kind of exercise, diet, and environment is affecting your progress?
Managing Your Mind
What you think about comes about. What you focus on will grow. Managing your mind with questions and controlling your input makes sense if you want to fast-track your success. Written, specific, time-related, measurable goals will make your Reticular Activating System work overtime for you, even while you’re asleep. It’s the most powerful weapon you have – might as well use it for good.
Audit Your Inner Resources
Just as professional Joint Venture Brokers use Resource Audits, you might want to audit yourself sometime. “On a scale of one to ten, how happy am I? Why? What needs to change for me to be happier? How healthy? How rich?”
Evaluate your relationships, your present status – take a good, hard look in the mirror. It’s not easy; I sometimes get viciously verbally attacked (usually in writing by the passive aggressive, anal retentive types) when I say things at my seminars that forces people to see themselves in the mirror of their minds. They hate what they see, so they “break the mirror” by attacking me.
Interpreting Your Circumstances
The way we interpret our circumstances and experiences goes a long way to determining how successful we will be. The meaning you choose to give it is the meaning it will have for you.
When a woman told Churchill he was drunk, he responded, “Madam, tomorrow morning, I will be sober, but you will still be ugly.”
Glenn Beck, a true political prophet, is being violently attacked and threatened by people whom he’s courageously exposing in the media as frauds and weasels. He had his friend, a psychiatrist, join him on his TV show to discuss how one should handle these attacks. His friend illustrated how drug addicts refuse to admit they have a problem and attack you for suggesting they do – a great illustration.
Philosophy: Your Best Leverage
The best mental leverage of all is your beliefs and your philosophy – that is what guides you every second of your life. Your beliefs, world view, and philosophy is either hurting or helping you, so why not choose one that works for you?
- Discard outdated, demeaning beliefs, and watch your life soar to new heights of success.
- I highly recommend you read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand – it has changed many lives, including mine.
One is faced with a buffet of belief choices – choose right. As developmental psychologist Gail Sheehy wrote years ago in her groundbreaking book, “Passages”, it’s normal and healthy to change your values and beliefs as you go through life, instead of being stuck in the poisonous beliefs some of our parents, preaches and teachers imposed on us – talk about child abuse!
Your most valuable asset in life is your mind.
Buddha said, “Thoughts give joy when they speak or act. Joy follows them like a shadow that never leaves them.”
Control your mind, and you control your life.
Napoleon Hill taught us, “Whatever the mind of man can believe and conceive, it can achieve.”
Your circumstances are a clear reflection of your philosophy and thoughts. Have fun taking back control of your mind and your future – be free!
